Conventional electrophotographic imaging processes typically include forming a visible toner image on a support surface (e.g., a sheet of paper). The visible toner image is often transferred from a photoreceptor that contains an electrostatic latent image and is usually fixed or fused onto the support surface using a fuser to form a permanent image. Conventional fusing apparatus include a fuser member and a pressure member, which may be configured to include a roll pair maintained in pressure contact or a belt member in pressure contact with a roll member. In a fusing process, heat may be applied by heating one or both of the fuser member and the pressure member.
One major failure mode for conventional fuser members includes paper-edge wear and scratch damage at the fuser surfaces due to lack of mechanical robustness of the fuser topcoat materials. The operating lifetime of fusers is then limited.
Conventional approaches for solving these problems include adding fillers into the fuser outermost materials. The fillers include carbon black, metal oxides, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). However, the mechanical robustness and wear resistance still need to be improved in order to extend the short operating lifetime of conventional fusers. Additionally, there is an advantage to incorporating more mechanically flexible filler additives for the purpose of increasing toughness and reducing wear and scratch. Additionally, it is desirable to incorporate sustainable or biodegradable components based on renewable resources into printer members.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide composite materials with suitable filler particles for fuser members.